Review: The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. 

My Thoughts 
Such an enlightening story.  I'm still not sure what to think and am trying to process this story and all aspects that it threw at me.  From an amazing family unit that laughed together, live life to the fullest and enjoy each others time to the worst fears come to life.

A nightmare takes over their lives and will they overcome it?  Will they survive or will they parish as well from the depression and horror of death.

There are so many questions that need to be answered - can one move on after tragedy?  Is forgiveness an option?  Can you learn to love again?  Is god really there to protect and stop evil from happening? 

This story has so many twists and turns and will really have you thinking about everything from your belief in a higher being to learning to forgive. 

Drink Selection
I would recommend a delicious glass (or two) of Three Brothers Winery 2015 Second Degree of Riesling.  You will fall in love!

Rating
This book had me thinking from beginning to end.  I will admit that there were a few parts that had me slightly lost and confused instead of thinking deeply.  I would recommend this book to everyone, you will fall in LOVE with the cast!  The Shack would rate 4 wine glasses in my eyes. (I can't wait to see the movie!)

Review - The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. 

My Thoughts 

What a thought provoking story of tragedy, family, love, heartbreak, deception and so much more. The story begins by Riley coming home after many years to settle her deceased fathers estate. It was very difficult walking back into the home knowing how much her father and the rest of the family has suffered after her older sister Lisa had committed suicide. Riley was just two when it happened, and still didn't know much about what had took place  except that her sister had passed away many years prior. 

An interesting cast of characters pop in and out - what is a girl to do with all this craziness. She just wants to sell the property and belongings and move on with her life. 

Then things begin to happen - people begin to talk - is there truth in what they are saying? Could it be? Or is Riley losing her mind? 

So many twists and turns in this dual story line of the past and present - you will be surprised and shocked by what you learn. 

Drink Selection 

I will be going with my favorite wine selection as of late - a delicious Roscato red wine! 

I rate this page turner a 4 wine glasses! Pick up your copy today! You will not be disappointed! 

Review - After You by Jojo Moyes

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”
 
How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.


My Thoughts
This touching story will have you loving learning more about Louisa Clark and Will Traynor.  Me Before You (Book 1) was amazing and terribly sad all in one.  The movie solidified my love for Louisa and Will and I wanted nothing more for him to decide to live at then end, that Louisa was enough.  We know that did not happen, but a girl could hope right?
Now, we move on to life after Will, and Louisa seems to be just going through the emotions, getting from one day to the next, one hour at a time.
She hasn't quite figured out how to move on.  She is using the money that Will left for her in the ways in which he requested, but is it time to move on?  Create a life of her own without Will and his influence?
Throughout this journey Louisa meets many interesting characters and has many life experiences.  She goes from being a shut in to living her life and creating new adventures for herself.
One very important person comes into her life and turns it around for the better, I will not say much more than that.  (I don't want to ruin the story for those who haven't read it yet, go get it today!).
Louisa learns more about herself post will then she ever thought possible but she can't thank him enough for getting her to where she is today.
It all begins when she attends a support group called Moving On, who assist members in life after the loved one that passed.  There are many ups and downs but the journey was worth it in the end.

Drink Selection
To remain in touch with this amazing tale of growing up and moving on, I would suggest a cup or two of Earl Grey Tea.


Rating
My love for Louisa and Will runs deep, 5 wine glasses all the way!